Easy ways to level-up your mixology skills and impress your family and friends
It’s cocktail time!(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
As the days draw shorter and the crisp autumn air settles in, our drinking preferences naturally shift away from the bright, citrus-heavy refreshers of summer toward rich, warming, and aromatic concoctions.
Autumn brings a vibrant tapestry of flavours to the bar, so whether you are hosting an intimate fireside gathering, celebrating the harvest season, or simply unwinding after a cool sweater-weather walk, crafting seasonal cocktails is an extraordinary way to bring the warmth of fall into your glass…
Żubrówka Apple Zu
Method: Grab a chilled glass, fill it with ice cubes. Pour Bison Grass Vodka over the ice. Top the glass with apple juice, leaving a bit of room at the top for stirring. Sprinkle a small pinch of cinnamon into the drink. Use a bar spoon or a straw to stir the drink gently, mixing the vodka, apple juice, and cinnamon.
The Spicy Bonny
Method: Fill a glass with ice. Pour in the spiced rum and lime. Top with ginger beer and stir well.
Hot Spiced Sangria
- 1 bottle The Straw Hat Soft & Juicy Red
- 3 shots dark rum
- 2 tbsp demerara sugar (to taste)
- 1 orange (sliced)
- 1 apple (thinly sliced)
- Peel from ½ a lemon
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 cloves
- 1 star anise
- 4 whole allspice berries
- Small slice of fresh ginger
Method: Add wine to a medium pot on very low heat – do not boil. Add the citrus & apple slices. Add cinnamon, cloves, star anise, allspice and ginger. Warm gently for 25–35 minutes, letting flavours round out. Stir in demerara sugar. Add the rum at the very end – it keeps the aroma vibrant. Serve warm with fruit pieces in each glass.
HPNO-Tini
- 2oz Hpnotiq
- 1oz Deep Eddy Vodka
- Splash of lemon
Method: Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a glow stick
Salford Rhubarb Negroni
Method: Build and stir in a tumbler with cubed ice. Garnish with a grapefruit slice.
Apple Pulp Martini (makes 2)
Method: Add the gin, vermouth and ice to a cocktail shaker. Stir vigorously until very cold and the shaker has frosted. Strain into chilled martini glasses. Garnish each drink with a thin apple slice.
Royal Negroni
Method: Pour all ingredients into an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice cubes. Stir, then garnish with an orange twist.
Negroni Sour
Mehod: Put all the ingredients except the lemon slices into the base of a cocktail shaker (do not add ice), secure the lid and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to build up the foam. Add a large handful of ice to the shaker and shake hard again for another 30-45 seconds until the outside of the shaker feels ice-cold and a creamy foam has developed. Strain into a tumbler half-filled with ice and garnish with Mixologist’s Garden lemon slices. Serve immediately.
Bison Mary
- 50 ml Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka
- 120 ml high-quality tomato juice
- 10 ml fresh lemon juice
- 2–3 dashes Worcestershire sauce (to taste)
- 2–3 dashes Tabasco or hot sauce (to taste)
- Pinch celery salt
- Pinch freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp mixed fresh herbs (basil, dill & parsley), finely chopped
- Celery stick
- Rosemary sprig
- Lemon slice (optional)
Method: Fill a highball glass with cubed ice. Add the vodka, lemon juice, tomato juice, sauces, seasoning, and herbs. Roll gently between two glasses or stir briefly to combine (avoid over-aerating). Top with fresh ice if needed. Garnish with a celery stick, a rosemary sprig and a lemon slice and serve.
Dark ‘n’ Spicy Rum Cocktail Recipe
- 60ml Goslings Black Seal Rum
- 30ml Chilli & Ginger Syrup (Add 1 cup of peeled and sliced fresh ginger, 1 jalapeno chilli -whole but pierced with a skewer several times, 1 cup of dark brown sugar, 1 cup of water to a pan and simmer for around 30 mins. Strain well, let it cool and store in a bottle in the fridge.)
- 15ml lime juice
- 15ml soda
- Garnish: wheel of lime and slice of ginger
- Glass: single rocks glass
Method: Add ice to a single rocks cocktail glass. Pour over the rum, chilli & ginger syrup and lime juice. Top with soda and stir to combine.
Red Mojito
- 10g Mixologist’s Garden Freeze-dried strawberry slices
- 100g White sugar
- 100ml water
- ½ Teaspoon Lemon juice
- 50ml White rum
- 30ml Strawberry syrup
- 20ml Lime juice
- 50ml Soda water
- 12 Mint leaves
- Mixologist’s Garden strawberry & lime slices, fresh mint, cinnamon stick or a straw
Method: Make the strawberry syrup by placing the sugar, water, lemon juice and strawberries into a saucepan and heating until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and leave it to infuse for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight). Strain the syrup through a fine-meshed sieve and discard the fruit. Decant the liquid into a bottle and store it in the fridge.
Put the mint leaves and lime into the base of a highball glass, then use a cocktail muddler (or the end of a rolling pin) to lightly squish the mint. Layer ice and our freeze-dried strawberry & lime slices into the glass. Pour in the rum and strawberry syrup, stir briefly to mix with the lime juice. Top up with the soda water and garnish with more strawberry and lime slices, a cinnamon stick (or straw) and a sprig of fresh mint. Serve immediately.
Caipirinha
Method: Place lime pieces in a glass with the skin facing down. Add sugar. Muddle, avoiding excessive bruising of the skin to prevent bitterness. Add ice and cachaça, then stir and enjoy
Grey Goose Classic Dry Vodka Martini Cocktail
Method: Add Grey Goose, vermouth, and bitters to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Stir deliberately, then strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.
Mexican Mule
Method: Fill a copper mug with ice, layering in 3 slices of jalapeño chilli (if using) and 3 of our freeze-dried lime slices as you do so. Pour the tequila, Triple sec and lime juice into the mug. Add the ginger beer. Use a cinnamon stick to stir the drink briefly, then leave it wedged in. Garnish the drink with more of our lime slices and rounds of the jalapeño (if using).
Amarga
Method: Fill a highball glass with ice. Add Abelha Cachaça. Top with a bitter lemonade like Fentimans and stir well. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
Hernö Old Tom Beetroot Martini
- 50ml Hernö Old Tom Gin
- 50ml beetroot juice
- 25ml lemon juice
- 1 tbsp ginger syrup (alternatively, use simple syrup)
- 2 cocktail onions, to garnish
- 1cm dice kielbasa (or other smoked sausage), to garnish
- Black pepper, to garnish
For the Ginger Syrup
- 250ml water
- 200g white sugar
- 200g fresh ginger, sliced
Method: To make the ginger syrup, add the water, sugar, and ginger to a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Once the liquid boils and the sugar dissolves, remove the pan from the heat and steep for 15 minutes. Strain and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. To make the Hernö Old Tom Beetroot Martini: Add the Hernö Old Tom Gin, beetroot juice, ginger syrup and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously then strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a crack of black pepper and a cocktail stick containing two cocktail onions and a small cube of kielbasa (or other smoked sausage).
Smooth Criminal
- 1.5 oz Ilegal Mezcal Joven
- .50 oz Lime Juice
- 1 oz Lemon Simple Syrup (or regular simple syrup)
- 1 oz Peach Puree
- Lime Wheel Garnish
Method: Build all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously with ice. Strain over fresh ice with dehydrated lime wheel or lemon zest garnish.
Grey Goose Espresso Martini Cocktail
- 50 ml Grey Goose Vodka
- 30 ml Single Origin Espresso
- 20 ml Premium Coffee Liqueur
- Pinch of Salt
- 3 Coffee Beans
Method: Add Grey Goose Vodka, espresso, coffee liqueur, and salt to a shaker. Shake briskly and strain into a martini cocktail glass. Garnish with three coffee beans.
The Brazilian Bee
- 60ml Abelha Cachaca
- 45ml Pineapple Juice
- 45ml Pink Grapefruit Juice
- 15ml Honey Syrup
- 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
- Fresh thyme (2 sprigs)
Method: Muddle fresh thyme with the honey syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add the remaining ingredients and shake over ice until well-chilled. Double-strain into an ice-filled Highball glass and garnish with thyme, pineapple, and grapefruit.
Espresso Martini
Method: Fill a martini glass with ice and set aside to chill. Pour Disaronno Velvet, Tia Maria and espresso into a cocktail shaker. Fill the rest of the shaker with ice. Shake the ingredients together. Empty the martini glass of ice. Pour the contents of the shaker into the glass using a strainer and sieve. Finish with three coffee beans
Grey Goose Appletini
- 50ml Grey Goose La Poire Vodka
- 10ml St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
- 15ml Calvados
- 15ml fresh lime juice
- 30ml fresh apple juice
Method: Add all ingredients into a shaker filler with ice. Shake and double-strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an apple Goose feather garnish.
Abelha Latin Old Fashioned
- 50ml A belha Cachaca Gold
- 2 dashes The Bitter Truth – Aromatic Bitters
- 1 Sugar cube
- A few dashes of plain water
Method: Place a sugar cube in an old-fashioned glass and saturate it with bitters, then add a dash of plain water. Muddle until dissolved. Fill the glass with ice cubes and add whiskey. Garnish with an orange slice, and a cocktail cherry and serve on the rocks, poured over ice
Salford Rumtini
Method: Hard shake in a cocktail shaker to create the texture/foam. Fine strain into a coupe/martini glass. Garnish with 3 coffee beans.
Yes Chef Martini
- 2 oz of Glendalough Wild Botanical Irish Gin
- ½ oz of Cinnamon Syrup
- ½ oz of Maple Syrup
- 1 oz of Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 oz of Egg Whites
- Dehydrated Persimmon Wheel, Star Anise & Lavender seed
Method: Add all ingredients to a shaker. Dry shake without ice first, then add ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a Coupe glass and add garnishes. Spray with Glendalough Wild Botanical Irish Gin to finish.
